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| Qabd & Bast
(Strain* and Expansion) Fethullah Gülen Qabd (strain) and bast (expansion), which
almost everyone feels at times during his life, relates especially to
those who live their lives consciously. Literally meaning being caught, being in
straits or distressed and being grasped by hand, qabd (strain) in the
language of sufism means that the link between a man and the source of his
spiritual gifts and radiance is cut for a certain period with the result
that he feels distressed, suffers from spiritual obstruction and
‘constipation.’ While bast (expansion) can be described as extension,
distension, development, relief and being freed from spiritual
‘constipation,’ and inwardly or spiritually developing to the point
that the seeker becomes a means of mercy in existence and embraces all
things or beings. Fear and hope or expectation are each a
deliberate attitude and a first station for a traveler on the way to the
Truth. Strain and expansion are a mysterious ‘bargain’ without the
will or intention of the traveler, one blocking his way and the other
making him taking wings to fly to the heights. If fear and hope are an anxiety about and a
joy of expectation relating to the future and liked and disliked things,
strain and expansion can be regarded as the heart’s contracting with
gloom and depression and beating with joy. Strain and expansion have the same meaning
for those who travel on the slopes of knowledge of God as fear and hope or
expectation have for the newly initiated. Strain and expansion are in the hands of
God even if we cannot exclude from them some part of man’s free will,
which is of only a nominal nature: God straitens and expands (2.245). As
the whole of existence is in His grasp and free disposal, it
is He Who directs and disposes however He wishes all things from
heavens to the human heart. The Prophetic saying, Heart is between the two
Fingers of the All-Merciful. He turns it from state to state and gives it
whatever ‘form’ He wishes, reminds us of this fact. When God wills, He contracts a heart so
tightly and makes it suffer for want of such things that no one other than
Him can satisfy it. By contrast, He expands and exhilarates it to such an
extent that it needs nothing. Strain is caused by the Majesty of God,
while expansion is by His Grace. While Grandeur and Magnificence relating
to God’s manifesting all His Names on the whole of existence are
displayed in the former, Mercy and Condescension are manifest in the
latter. In the former, there is the frightening, awesome, and
majestic nature of the Power Which turns all existence from huge systems
to particles, while in the latter there are affectionate breezes to the
spirits which tremble with the awe of this infinitely vast, overwhelming
Power, this overpowering Majesty. Not everyone can feel such manifestations
of Majesty and Grace at the same level. The extent of strain and expansion
is proportionate to the emotional and spiritual capacity of people.
Naturally, what an ordinary one feels in the name of distress and relief
or rejoicing is not of the same degree as the spiritual joy and anxieties
of one awakened to Divine truths who is continuously on the alert for what
will come through the half-opened door from the realms beyond and
conscious of the fact that he is incessantly overseen from above. Like everything else and every occurrence
in existence, strain and expansion are at the disposal of the Creator and
continuously alternate like nights and days.
Even if there may be causes of this alternation originating from
the deeds man does out of his free
will, Divine Will extends or shortens the periods of strain and expansion
and throws man into tensions or makes him overflow with delight. There are
times when a man covers a long span of time as if flying like birds
without being caught in strain, while
there are other times when strain visits him too frequently and the
periods of strain persist to the
extent that he feels as if rolling from one pit into another and is
exposed to great distresses. As it causes strain that one neglects to
fulfill what one must do as required by the spiritual position bestowed on
him by God, sins usually bring strain along with themselves. For this
reason, a believer must always be on the alert (against committing new
sins and deviations) while suffering strain. He must be careful lest
heedlessness should overpower him, and he must try to be cleansed of sins
through sincere repentance and good deeds. Once more, he must stand in
waiting for what will come from the realms beyond. While strain is accompanied by fear,
perplexity and feelings of spiritual emptiness, expansion manifests itself
in the forms of joy, rapture and some feelings or
utterances of pride. For this reason, expansion may be risky for
spiritually less-developed ones who have not yet been able to attune
themselves to the conditions of journeying in ‘celestial’ realms.
Although there are also some risks of strain, the risks of expansion are
greater and more in number. For one caught in strain usually feels in his
conscience that he is absolutely in need of the Almighty and turns to Him
in sincere acknowledgement of his neediness. He entreats, ‘Hold me! Hold
me lest I should fall!’ and, escaping the spiritual waste he feels, he
is favoured with the Almighty’s help and reaches the heights which he
cannot reach in times of expansion. It is because of this that while some
people are exposed to heedlessness and loss of spiritual energy in times
of expansion, strain serves to lead almost every one to alertness. In
addition to this, the strain originating from some of our sins or neglect
usually becomes the beginning of a new wave of expansion; similarly, the
expansion which causes pride and loss of spiritual energy may give rise to
new strains. A true believer is one who can judge each
state of his as it really is with all its aspects and make it fruitful. Strain and expansion are each a manifestation from Him for one who knows, He expands so that the servant should thank
Him and strains so that he should be more sharpened. Source: * other terms used for qabd are: constriction, constipation |